LIFE

Peter Capaldi accuses BBC of neglecting "Doctor Who"

Currently on the promotional rounds for the latest season of Doctor Who arriving on DVD, star Peter Capaldi did not bite his tongue with his opinions on how the show is being run by the BBC.

During the last season, which critics claim to be Capaldi's best since taking on the title, it was rescheduled to 8pm, which ran it right up against both The X Factor and the rugby world cup.

This change resulted in the show losing numbers, something Capaldi wanted to talk about when interviewed by Newsweekthis week:

“The BBC is an incredible organisation, but … sometimes people there think, ‘That’s looking after itself.’ And it’s not being looked after. I think maybe their eye was taken off the ball, or the show was seen as a thing they could just push around. It’s not. It’s a special thing.”

“It does frustrate me. If you’re going to have a family show, I think you have to build up a little ritual around it – and that ritual usually starts with having it on at the same time. Even I didn’t know what time it was on...”

“I have to pay attention to ratings – I’d rather not – but it’s the way the business is. I think overnight ratings are a thing of the past. You can’t really measure the success of the show by its overnight ratings, which is what the papers do. But there’s still a place for families to sit down and watch the show – that’s still a great, fun, thing to do. That’s what the show’s success is based on. That has to be protected.”

This was revealed after Capaldi had confirmed that shooting for his third - and, contractually, final - season as the Doctor is about to take place, with many believing that Eastenders' actress Rakhee Thakrar to be announced as his companion.

Capaldi also stated that he has been asked back for a potential fourth season, something that wasn't offered to David Tennant or Matt Smith, and it runs counter-intuitive to the arrival of new showrunner Chris Chibnall, who is set to replace Stephen Moffatt, who wishes to leave and focus exclusively on the upcoming seasons of Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Brian Blessed told Calibre Magazine that he would love to take over the mantle of Doctor Who once Capaldi is done, and revealed he was initially asked to take over the role almost 50 years ago, right after the first Doctor had completed his term:

"I was actually in talks with the producers, who said, ‘We’re very keen for you to be the Doctor, to follow William Hartnel, and we’d like you to play him very young. You’ve got a very vivid imagination, Brian. You can be quite normal and then also very, very eccentric."